During three days, the Chairs and Networks built synergies and pool resources for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. The 2030 Agenda offers immense opportunities to reconnect science to society and to build a new basis for research as a driving force, not only for economic growth and prosperity, but also for environmental sustainability, development and social inclusion.

The meeting closed with the adoption of the Geneva Milestone, a blueprint to strengthen UNESCO Chairs' contribution to transformative change towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development through cooperation.

Dr. Cecilia Soriano during her participation at the meeting

Dr. Cecilia Soriano from CIMNE represented the UNESCO Chair on Numerical Methods in Engineering, hosted by CIMNE and the UPC, the first chair created by UNESCO back in 1989. She was the chair of one of the sessions of the conference, and was also actively involved in the drafting of the Geneva Milestone declaration.

The 172 UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Network specialized in science gathered for the first time in Geneva, 5-7 July, 2017.